Luck of the Irish
by Skymouth
Summary: What happened after the episode “The Good Guys”? Finn laments on his life’s choices. FinnChow


Luck of the Irish  
Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins  
A Jackie Chan Adventures Fanfic  
  
Rating: PG-13 Disclaimer: Jackie Chan and subsequent characters belong to Jackie Chan and associates. It'd be pretty useless to sue me since I have nothing! I've made no profit nor will see any from this fic.  
  
Summary: What happened after the episode "The Good Guys"? Finn laments on his life's choices. Finn/Chow  
  
One thing Finn knew for certain he had was by what he lacked, and that was luck. He knew he had no luck. Never had, never would have it. And yet, he tried to not let it depress him. He knew that when one had luck as bad as he, that it had to, at some point, turn into good, didn't it?  
  
He sat there shivering, having gone over the edge of the cliff. Ratso and Chow were beside him. All of them clung onto the broken branch for their dear lives. Chow had his eyes clenched shut as he held onto the support with a death grip. His fear of heights fairing none too well with their current state of affairs. Ratso also clung to the thing with gusto, hardly daring to breathe, or move a muscle. Finn sat there, huddled in on himself, cold and miserable and lamenting on his life. He wished for some minute sense of comfort. But that was as fleeting as his luck.  
  
"I'm friggen cold." Finn complained, knowing the others were just as miserable as he and no one else was able to do anything about it.  
  
"We seriously need a new gig." Ratso sighed.  
  
Finn agreed and took Chow's whimper as further agreement.  
  
"So, what then are we gonna do?" Finn wanted to know, trying his best to plan ahead.  
  
"Live!" He heard Chow hiss from his vantage point.  
  
Finn wrapped his arms around himself tighter in a vain attempt to warm himself, "I was hoping to think a little further along then the immediate plan."  
  
"Stop jiggling the branch!" Chow demanded hysterically.  
  
"I'm NOT!" Finn growled and stopped trying to rub his arms so vigorously. He heard the absolute terror in the China man's voice and felt immediately contrite. "Sorry."  
  
"I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!" Chow murmured over and over, keeping his eyes averted from immanent death.  
  
They sat there, clinging to life and to what little hope could be purchased. Finn doubted that the Chan's had stuck around. He sure wouldn't have if he had been them. He sure wouldn't blame them either. He knew there would be no going back to Uncle's shop. Not as guests, not as anything. They literally had no where to go. Except down.  
  
"Hey, Finn!" Ratso's tone was bright and made Finn scowl at the Italian.  
  
"What?" Not attempting to hold his temper in check.  
  
"Isn't that a rope?" He motioned with his temple towards Finn's far right, closest to the cliff.  
  
"Bad joke, Ratso." Finn grumbled. None of his attempts to get warm were working. There was one way he'd considered on getting warm, yet when that thought entered his mind, it was abandoned just as quickly. His cheeks had gone red and that wasn't from the effects of the biting cold wind. He admonished himself for thinking of his fellow Enforcer in such a manner. He was glad the larger Enforcer impeded his line of sight. This was no time to be thinking of such things, he berated himself and caught himself trying to look over Ratso's shoulder to Chow. No time for such things! He looked away--- and saw the rope. "Woah!"  
  
"Get it!" Chow cried at him.  
  
Finn did. He looked up the length of the rope that disappeared in the mist that swirled around them. The top of the cliff was out of sight. Had Chan stayed after all? Had to, had to of, he thought, burning with hope. Chan was forever about second chances. He pulled himself up and stood on the branch, trying to be careful not to jiggle it too much. He held onto the rope tightly with one hand and gestured to the two Enforcers with his other.  
  
"Come on!" He waved them over.  
  
"I'm trying." Ratso was courageously attempting to move towards him. Excessively cautious.  
  
Finn looked past the big man to the smaller one, clinging to the branch and not moving at all. The Chinese man looked to be frozen on the spot.  
  
"Chow."  
  
"I can't move!" The younger man whimpered.  
  
Finn swore. "Take the rope, Ratso, I gotta help Chow."  
  
"I don't need your help!" That agitated comment from Chow.  
  
"Then get your ass over here to the rope!" Finn relayed in frustration as Ratso tried to figure out how to climb the rope around Finn without getting too physical with the Irishman. Ratso had a hold of the rope and Finn seriously considered going out to try to somehow help Chow.  
  
"Stay there!" Chow repeated and mustered valiant effort as he made his first, achingly slow attempts to reposition himself. "I'm coming!"  
  
Ratso had started up the rope and his form was lost in the mist by the time Chow managed to claw his way to the other end of the branch. The man was sweating and trembling from his effort and gasping heavily. Finn reached down carefully to lend Chow a hand, but Chow ignored him, his gesture angry. Finn wondered what the hostility was for. Chow managed to get to his feet. Finn tried to ignore the sensations that coursed through his body as Chow had to use him as partial support. It just wasn't right for him to feel that way towards another man. His father had taught him to hate people who did what he himself was only contemplating. Called them faggot or even worse. Taught him it was wrong to seek solace out of the same sex. And so therefore it was all the more puzzling when he noticed he had feelings that ran much deeper then friendship for Chow.  
  
He didn't even know exactly when it happened or why. But he knew that every time he found himself leaning towards a side of himself he didn't want to explore, he would go and pick up a woman. Never would matter who, just as long as she exuded femininity and distracted him for long enough to forget.  
  
He let Chow take the rope and climb over him. Taking a deep breath, he then took the rope and began the hazardous climb himself. He'd lost his grip once. His sweaty hands made the climb difficult. By the time he scrabbled up to the top, he was out of breath and his hands were cut up from rope burn. Bodies bent over to help him and he collapsed to the ground in relief once he was pulled to safety. He lay there gasping and wondering at the sudden escalation of his luck.  
  
"Hey, Finn. It's the monks." That from Ratso.  
  
Finn looked up after he'd managed to catch his breath after a few moments. Ratso was right. "Chan?" He wondered aloud, wondering why he hoped for that one.  
  
Ratso shrugged, "Outta here, with the opal."  
  
Finn sighed, never caring to see the opal again. "So, now what."  
  
"Well, the monks need help rebuilding the temple the pizza dork destroyed." Ratso suggested.  
  
"They told you this?" Finn asked.  
  
"Um, they can't tell me anything. I think they took that vow of silence or something." Ratso replied.  
  
Finn's brows creased. "And you divined that we should help them build a temple? I'm not a friggen carpenter."  
  
Ratso shrugged, "Well, neither am I, but I can use a hammer. And they DID save our lives. And what else are we gonna do? How else are we gonna get home?"  
  
"We don't HAVE a home." Chow's response was terse and bitter.  
  
Chow was right. So was Ratso. They had nowhere else to go. It seemed as though the monks were offering them a place to stay. He could not afford to be choosy. So, they were going to stay on as hired hands, huh? He supposed it could be worse. Hell, they could still be out on that damn branch! Getting his hands dirty doing honest labor should do him some good. He had really wanted to try to be good again. But damn it if old habits died hard! Well, now with that priceless opal gone, he was certain there'd be no more distractions on his road to being good.  
  
"I think we're supposed to go back to the temple and wash up before dinner." Chow told him.  
  
Well, he thought to himself morosely, there's THAT distraction.  
  
Finn followed behind everyone else, thinking silently to himself. Noting Chow's stiff walk and agitated mannerism. Chow was still freaked out about the whole cliff thing, Finn surmised. Chow's fear of heights was something Finn had tried to help the man conquer and had so far remained unsuccessful. In fact, most everything Finn had tried to do to help Chow failed. Chow was very unreceptive. Almost as if he resisted all efforts to change him, the fear of change his biggest fear of them all.  
  
They all marched back into the monastery. The mist encroached on them, swirling about them like smoke, enveloping the stone buildings. The walls of the temple lay in rubble, making a mess of the once tranquil courtyard. It was quiet. A drastic change from the violence earlier that day. He expected to see monks milling about, but there were none. Then he remembered Chow saying something about dinner. He shrugged. What the Hell. Not the first time they had exchange physical labor for their meal.  
  
The meal had been eaten in silence. There was the usual noisy clinking of the silverware against plates and bowls by the Enforcers, but other then that, no one spoke. No one had said a word to them the entire time which made Finn wonder if Ratso's suggestion about a vow of silence was true. It was just as well that no one spoke, it gave Finn more time to think. He was tired. Tired of having to ignore his feelings. Tired of Chow's hostility towards him. Tired of--- everything. His life was crap. This was not where he pictured he'd end up as when he was a kid. Scrounging for anything at the bottom of the heap of life. Tired of working hard for everything and getting nothing. Tired of going to bed lonely every night since the whole friggen thing with the talismans began. He was getting too old for this. Time to settle down. His eyes fastened onto his plate, trying desperately to not look at Chow who was seated to his left. Ratso was to his right and they were all surrounded by the monks. Only Chow interested him.  
  
This was insane, he thought to himself. Chow was his friend. Chow was--- a guy. It wasn't right for him to have such thoughts. He shook his head, trying to clear it and continued to eat. Chow beside him, full of pent up anger at their situation. Who had taken to lashing out at him when he felt baited. Chow who's lips, full and pouty--- Finn blanched when he found himself describing the Asian man's facial features in such a manner. Chow invaded his space when he reached for a roll. Finn's ladened fork made it only halfway to his mouth, his jaw agape, ready to take it in, but all movement froze during that reach. Belatedly, it had been several seconds after Chow had started to tear into the roll did Finn recall the forkful of food. He shoved it in his mouth and chewed ferociously.  
  
After a very bland and very uncomfortable dinner, the monks silently escorted them to a small room. There were a row of cots, rudimentary and barely useable in a bare room. There was a single table with a candelabra waiting to be lit. That was it.  
  
"Not much to look at." Chow mumbled unimpressed.  
  
"But hey, no demons or evil sorcerers!" Ratso exclaimed brightly.  
  
"No tv and no fast food either." Finn reminded the Italian.  
  
"Oh yeah." Ratso said.  
  
The monks left them alone.  
  
"So, guess this is home." Chow said unhappily.  
  
Finn nodded. It wasn't much, but then again, they were used to having very little by now.  
  
"I'm gonna have a look around." Ratso informed them and left to inspect the building they were staying in.  
  
Great, Finn thought, he didn't need to be alone with Chow at the moment. He felt awkward enough trying to pretend nothing was going on while in front of everyone. Now being in close quarters with the tense Chinese man made things a hundred times more difficult.  
  
"What are you looking at?" That from an angry Chow.  
  
Finn had had it, "What IS your problem anyway, Chow? Lately, God, I swear it's like you're about to rip my head off over nothing! What, you got PMS or something?"  
  
Chow just growled at him and turned away in a huff. He stormed out of the room leaving a confused and slightly saddened Finn behind. Well that went--- like crap. Pretty much like the rest of his life. Screw it, things couldn't get much worse! He stormed after Chow, determined to get to the bottom of Chow treating him like crap.  
  
He went down the corridor and saw an open door and knew it was the bathroom because he had been in there before. He heard noises coming from within and poked his head in to investigate. Chow was in there, brushing his teeth in front of a wooden basin full of water that sat on a huge block of wood. There was a hole dug deep in the ground on the other side of the room which was the toilet. The place had no indoor plumbing and no electricity. Apparently, the twentieth century hadn't quite made it's impact over there yet.  
  
Finn positioned himself inside the doorway, barring Chow's escape. There were no windows in the room. If Chow was going to run away from him, he'd have to run through him to get away.  
  
"Hey, Chow."  
  
Chow stiffened and placed both hands on the side of the basin, bracing himself. "What do you want?"  
  
"Answers." Finn said simply. "I'm tired of your crap. Why are you such a bitch lately?"  
  
Chow swore under his breath. "Get out of my face, Finn."  
  
"No, this is going to be finished. I'm serious. What's wrong with you?"  
  
Silence. "There has to be more to life then this. Isn't there?"  
  
Finn chewed the inside of his lip. So, he wasn't the only one thinking their lives out. Chow seemed to be taking it rather personally though. "So I've been told."  
  
"Why us? I mean--- why?"  
  
Finn shook his head at a loss for words. "We aren't good guys."  
  
"We tried." Chow sounded like he was trying to convince himself.  
  
"What, you want a medal?"  
  
"I want---! I want--- God, I don't know what I want. Except for more then this." Chow huddled over the basin. "Just, I've been thinking about things lately, and having that near death experience---"  
  
"I know." Finn murmured quietly. He wondered what else Chow had been thinking about. If Chow had been thinking about anyone--- Christ but he was a wus, he admonished himself. If Chow was a chick, he'd have had her drunk and bedded her a long time ago. Why was this so much different? "So, why take it out on me?"  
  
Chow didn't answer. Then, finally. "Sorry."  
  
Finn stepped into the room slowly. "Gonna be okay?"  
  
"No, no it wont be okay, genius." Chow relayed gruffly.  
  
Finn sighed. He was behind Chow now. Aching to reach out from behind and pull the man into an embrace. But his own arms were frozen to his side. His fingers twitched and yet he couldn't do anything. He was disgusted with himself.  
  
"Finn?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Pause. "Never mind." Chow turned and found himself bumping into Finn.  
  
Finn stepped back a pace, embarrassed.  
  
"Something?" Chow asked.  
  
But Finn shook his head, dry mouthed and his eyes flicked downward. God, he was stupid!  
  
"Finn?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You can--- if you want to."  
  
Finn blinked and looked up into Chow's face, not understanding the offer. "What? Can do what?"  
  
Chow had the grace to blush and his head ducked a bit. "As I've said, I've been thinking on things, and noticing others. I've seen how you- -- look at me lately. It's--- kinda cool."  
  
Finn swallowed, his mouth went dry and his eyes wide as he stared at Chow.  
  
Chow's voice trembled with his nervousness. "You can kiss me if you want to."  
  
Finn didn't know what to do. He was speechless. Did Chow just put the offer out on the table? The one offer he'd been hoping for. And he had no idea how to respond. He had no idea what he'd do once he HAD Chow.  
  
Chow looked at his friend who appeared to have been struck dumb. Did he just make an egregious error? Had he misread all of Finn's signals? God! He was so sure! He totally screwed up! Chow was backed up against the water basin. Finn was right there in front of him. He had no where to go. Had nothing to look at but a wide-eyed Finn who looked like a deer caught in a headlight. Cripes!  
  
Chow laughed nervously. "Ha ha ha, good one, huh? Almost got you there!" He attempted to save lamely. He tried to move past Finn but the Irishman wouldn't budge. "Finn?"  
  
"Please tell me you weren't joking." Finn finally managed to find his tongue.  
  
Chow hesitated. "I wasn't--- if you really are interested."  
  
"I-I-I'm interested!" Finn all but stammered.  
  
Chow grinned. "You're such a chicken."  
  
"Yeah, great." Finn said dispassionately, "Look who's talking, Mr. I'm Afraid of the Whold Damn World."  
  
But Chow shut him up by pressing his lips into Finn's. Chow lingered there, having had any number of fantasies about this particular moment with Finn. Finn, nervous pulled back after a moment and caught his breath, his eyes stayed wide and startled.  
  
"You too?" Finn gasped.  
  
Chow smiled. "Hell yeah."  
  
Finn grinned stupidly. "You were acting like such a bitch to me these past few months. I never would have guessed."  
  
Chow shrugged, "Well, I didn't know how to cope with those feelings to tell you the truth. They scared me." He admitted. "I---I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know, at least, until I was sure how you felt."  
  
Finn leaned in closer. "Threw me off the scent."  
  
"You were scared too."  
  
"Not anymore." He kissed Chow back this time and felt like his luck was finally changing. And for the better.  
  
The End 


End file.
